TENNIS

Southland Times, Issue 20609, 6 October 1928, Page 8

TENNIS

INVERCARGILL CLUB. The following is the annual report of the Invercargill Tennis Club to be presented at the annual meeting to-day:—During the past year the committee has given a great deal of consideration to the repair and maintenance of the’ courts, and it was decided that in order to maintain the high position of the club, some very material improvements had to be made. With this in view the committee members made various visits to the courts during the winter, and decided to obtain a full report on the state of the courts from a competent asphalter. This was done, and as a result certain work was decided on and authorized to be carried out. The committee has done as much as it was possible, and has been able to relay one court through the action of the Sports Trust Trustees in postponing the 1929 repayment on the pavilion loan for a year. Courts one, two and three have been top-dressed and court five has been relaid. The whole ground is now in excellent order, and should attract players and encourage our members to practice. The expenditure has been heavy, but the committee considered the work necessary in the interests of the club, and it has no doubt the club will benefit as a body. We are again indebted to the lady members for organizing and carrying through successfully a tennis dance, thereby augmenting the club funds by just on £4O. Our sincere thanks are due to all these lady members who assisted. We also wish to thank Mrs McFadgen for her donation to the tennis dance. It also seems appropriate to mention the energy displayed by Mr and Mrs Garrett in the interests of the club and to express the cjub’s thanks for their generosity on various occasions during the winter. The club entered its usual number of teams in the association's competition, but this year was runner-up. The A grade shield was won by Central, whom we wish to congratulate on their win. Our A team is to be congratulated on being the first holder of the Baird Cup by reason of its winning the “knock-out” competition held at the conclusion of the inter-club matches. In the second competition our B team is to be congratulated on its finishing first equal with Waihopai. Fewer matches were played in the club competition and the committee considers the reductions made a success. The results of the tournament are as follows:—Men’s singles championship—H K. Sumpter; B. Meredith (runner-up). Ladies’ singles championship—Miss L. Lawrence, Mrs Chartres (runner-up). Men’s Doubles championship—Messrs H. K. Sumpter and L. R. Lopdell. Ladies' singles handicap— Miss L. Lawrence, Miss Logan (runner-up). As the primary consideration of our club is the promotion of the game the committee views with pleasure the progress made by the junior members. It is encouraging to see that the standard of play has improved, and we trust this may be maintained. We take this opportunity of congratulating Miss L. Lawrence on winning the Southland ladies’ championship. The committee has also to thank the lady members who provided tea during the season and wishes to assure these members that their work was appreciated. The question to tea at the courts has been debated now for a number of years, and the committee can only leave it to the ladies to decide what is the best system to adopt. Your committee has given considerable thought to the matter of keeping the club membership. up to a satisfactory strength. As you are aware, our membership has considerably declined since Waihopai, Gladstone and Southend courts were established. It is particularly felt that the existing men’s subscription of £3 3/—reducible to £2 12/6—is keeping many of the younger players from joining the club. A notice of motion dealing with both ladies’ and men’s subscriptions has already been forwarded to you and the matter will be open for discussion at the meeting. During the past season the revenue from subscriptions has fallen by approximately £4O and as the financial burden on the club will not materially decrease until the pavilion loan is repaid it is thought that the best policy to pursue is to keep the subscription to an attractive level and by bringing the membership (especially as regards the men) up to something like its level of some three or four years ago to rehabilitate the club’s finances and build up a strong club spirit.